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'Wonder Woman' may face Lebanon ban

The Lowell Sun

Updated:
05/31/2017 07:50:39 AM EDT

Gal Gadot stars in "Wonder Woman." AP/INVISION

BEIRUT (AP) -- Lebanon's ministry of economy is seeking to ban the 2017 "Wonder Woman" movie because its lead actress -- Gal Gadot -- is an Israeli, though a formal request for a ban has not yet been received, a Lebanese security official said Tuesday.

A ban would require a recommendation from a committee of six ministry members, a process that also has not yet began, the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to talk to reporters.

An advance premiere of the movie was scheduled for today in at least one cinema in Beirut, which offers its members attending the show free popcorn. Posters of the movie and digital billboards have sprouted up around the Lebanese capital.

Lebanon is officially at war with Israel and has a decades-old law that boycotts Israeli products and bars Lebanese citizens from traveling or having contacts with Israelis.

A boycott group, called Campaign to Boycott Supporters of Israel-Lebanon, has campaigned against showing the movie in Lebanon. The campaign on its Facebook page praised the ministry's call, saying it is advocating a ban because Gadot was a soldier in the Israeli army, and has expressed support for Israel's military policies against the Gaza Strip, a coastal Palestinian territory run by the militant Hamas group.

In a widely shared posting on her Facebook page, Gadot had praised Israel's military during the Gaza-Israel 2014 war, sending prayers to Israeli soldiers "who are risking their lives protecting my country against the horrific acts conducted by Hamas.

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Officials at the Lebanese economy ministry were not immediately available for comment. The security official said banning a movie would be something that would ultimately come from the country's interior minister, following a recommendation from the six-member committee.

The Israeli actress appeared in reprisals of the "Fast and Furious," none of which was banned in Lebanon. Crowned Miss Israel, she then went on to serve the mandatory two-year military service in Israel, before starting her acting career and was cast in a series of Hollywood movies and shows, before landing the role of Wonder Woman in last year's "Batman Vs Superman."

Even though Lebanon enjoys a greater margin of freedom of expression than other countries in the region, prior censorship remains in place, particularly with content relating to Israel, religion and homosexuality.

Reflecting tightening of censorship, an Egyptian movie about a celebrity Muslim cleric, "Mawlana," and a Lebanese movie, "Beach House," about friends discussing their identities were banned in Lebanon earlier this year.

Mawlana was later shown after cuts were made, said one cinema manager, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the ongoing controversy. The two movies were approved in Egypt.

There is no clear mechanism for appeal of a ban on art work and public campaigns often are the only means to protest a ban. Religious institutions also have a say in art work with religious references.

Despite the controversy in Lebanon, Wonder Woman is set to open as scheduled during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan across theaters in the United Arab Emirates, Qatar and Kuwait on Thursday. It is scheduled for release June 22 in Oman and June 29 in Bahrain.

The movie is based on the DC Comics character, Wonder Woman. It has earned Gadot acclaim, as a rare leading female role.

That is when the campaign against her movies in Lebanon began, as the same campaigners sought to bar Batman Vs Superman, which was shown in Lebanese theaters.

NEW YORK (AP) -- Justin Bieber, Coldplay and Katy Perry will join Ariana Grande at a charity concert in Manchester, England, on Sunday.

Grande announced Tuesday that the "One Love Manchester" show will be held at the city's Old Trafford cricket ground just under two weeks after a bomber killed 22 people at the pop singer's concert in Manchester.

Other performers will include Pharrell Williams, Miley Cyrus, Usher, Niall Horan and Take That. Proceeds will go to an emergency fund set up by the city of Manchester and the British Red Cross. Tickets go on sale Thursday.

"We will not quit or operate in fear. We won't let this divide us. We won't let hate win," Grande said in a statement. "Our response to this violence must be to come closer together, to help each other, to love more, to sing louder and to live more kindly and generously than we did before."

The singer added: "Music is meant to heal us, to bring us together, to make us happy. So that is what it will continue to do for us."

Country stars to be honored in ACM TV special

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) -- George Strait, Dolly Parton, Kelsea Ballerini, Eric Church, Reba McEntire, Toby Keith, Willie Nelson and Shel Silverstein will be honored by the Academy of Country Music during a television special.

ACM announced Tuesday the special award honorees for the ACM Honors show, to be held in Nashville on Aug. 23 and broadcast at a later date on CBS.

Strait will receive the Cliffie Stone Icon Award, and Parton will receive the Gary Haber Lifting Lives Award. The Gene Weed Milestone Award will go to Ballerini, while Church will receive the Merle Haggard Spirit Award. McEntire and radio DJ Bob Kingsley will receive the Mae Boren Axton Service Award, while Keith, Nelson and Silverstein will get the Poet's Award. The TV show "Nashville" will receive the Tex Ritter Film Award.

Olivia Newton-John says she has breast cancer; cancels tour

NEW YORK (AP) -- Olivia Newton-John says she has a breast cancer and is canceling her June tour. The 68-year-old singer said Tuesday she initially thought she was suffering from back pain, but learned it was "breast cancer that has metastasized to the sacrum." Newton-John said she will complete "a short course of photon radiation therapy" and hopes to perform later this year. She said she will be treated by the medical team at the Olivia Newton-John Cancer Wellness and Research Centre in Melbourne, Australia. Says Newton-John: "I decided on my direction of therapies after consultation with my doctors and natural therapists." Ticket buyers will be refunded for the canceled shows.

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